HOSPITALS slated in patient surveys have pledged to tackle the problems highlighted. Walsall Manor Hospital was rated one of the worst in the country for overall care, while Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth and Selly Oak hospitals scored badly over mixed sex wards.

City and Sandwell hospitals were also rated badly for its hospital food.

Sue James, chief executive of Walsall Manor Hospital, said: "We are all very disappointed with this year’s results of the national inpatient survey, particularly as we have done so much work towards improving the patient experience.

"Although our own in-house survey is not as comprehensive, our high scores do show that patients we have spoken to are more than happy with the service we are providing."

Ms James added: "In the light of these results, we will be doubling our efforts to make sure that our patients are more than satisfied with their overall care when leaving the Manor Hospital, with particular concentration on cleanliness and communication."

A spokesman for University Hospital Birmingham said that the trust tried wherever practically possible to treat patients on single sex units.

"All wards are partitioned off to give privacy and dignity to men and women cared for in different bays," said the spokeswoman.

"We appreciate that this situation is not totally satisfactory for the patient. It is not satisfactory for trust either and is one of the main reasons for building the new hospital, where 44 per cent of the rooms will be single and en-suite."

A spokeswoman for Sandwell and West Birmingham Trust said £500,000 was being invested into ward service officers to improve the food service at its hospitals to give extra support to patients at meal times.

The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, in Northfield, and Birmingham Women’s Hospital, in Edgbaston, scored highly on care in the annual survey by the Healthcare Commission.

Issues raised in the survey of 76,000 patients nationwide included standards of care, mixed sex accommodation, food and cleanliness.